


Divergences and Other Detours

by Yeoyou



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Matrix crossover, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Wendy AU, dogwalker AU, short prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-06-02 01:05:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6544192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeoyou/pseuds/Yeoyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of short Tumblr (AU) prompts</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Scars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kawaiibooker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaiibooker/gifts).



> Prompt: Otasune Soulmate AU

When Hal was born, he was already covered in scars.

As he gets older, he spends an hour every day to check for new ones, shedding tears when he finds the obvious bullet mark on his thigh or the thin line under his ear, fine as a knife’s blade. A landscape of pain on pale skin, the echo of a life in constant danger.

He is afraid that one of these days, no new scars will appear, that the last scar will have been the one separating them forever and they will have lost their chance. Without so much as an idea of what the other person is like, how they laugh or cry. How their voice sounds. How their skin feels.

Hal isn’t sure if his soulmate even realises that the scar on their knee is not their own, but Hal’s, from when he fell off his bike and scraped along gravel; there are too many scars. He feels like a silent watcher, an archive for the pain suffered by another. He has no stories of his own to tell. Remains invisble.

The tattoo needle hurts but Hal clenches his teeth, thinks of all the pain layered like shadows over the scars, pain he’s never had to feel, and endures because it’s the only way he can think of to send a message: “Persevere”.

\---

Snake has never been one of those who spend all their time searching. He doesn't mind being alone. Doesn't need anyone. Certainly not some ghost who could be miles away. It's only a distraction.

And he doesn't need distractions. His life's dangerous enough without them. He has a job to do and it doesn't involve him pining after someone he might never meet, who might not even be alive anymore. Snake could die any moment and it's okay because he's just a tool, just a weapon pointed by someone else to do a job nobody else could do.

There's no place for feelings on a battlefield.

Nobody will mourn his death.

But then black letters appear on the inside of his left arm and he realises that there is someone waiting for him, someone who cares if he dies, whether he wants that or not. He tries to shake it, tries to ignore it, but the letters won't let him. They sear themselves into his brain, whisper into his dreams and erode all his defenses.

And so he perseveres. And so he stays alive. Not for himself. Not for the people who betray him and use him. But for the ghost.


	2. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Solid Snake & Raiden (your choice if platonic or not), Matrix AU

“This is not a game, kid.” The man’s voice was deep and gravelly; it felt like getting dragged across the rusty outside of their ship.

“Oh, I know. But I’ve done extensive training in VR and I’m completely prepar-”

“You’re not.”

It stopped Raiden pretty effectively. That voice, that look, it all screamed experience and seriousness and something tangibly real that had been sadly lacking from all the VR training sessions. Raiden could tell himself he was prepared till he died of old age but just looking at the older man’s face forced him to admit that he wasn’t. That all his cocky swaggering confidence with which he’d planned to enter the Matrix was bullshit. He was afraid. And Solid Snake had looked right through him. Because he knew. What it was really like inside.

There was only one right answer to this and Raiden felt a new sort of determination course through his veins as he nodded, took a secure stance and looked Snake square in the eye.

“Then teach me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is completely random, and I have no idea what's even going on. I haven’t seen The Matrix in ages!!


	3. Catching Nerds on Horses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Otasune Bravo-Fotolovestory AU ...well, that was the original prompt but my brain went off on a tangent so now it's a Wendy AU (fyi: Wendy is a German horse themed magazine for girls aged seven to eleven approx. Among other stuff there's always a story about Wendy, a horse loving teenager, and her adventures on/around the stables/ranch of her father...). It's random. Have fun.

“No, no wait, REEEEEEEEEX…”

Yelling and the sound of crushing through branches were the first signs that something was going seriously wrong somewhere.

As the panicked horse sped past David, a white faced skinny boy clutching desperately to its neck, he wasn’t even really surprised. He just turned his own horse, a beautiful chestnut mare, around and followed. “Go, Meryl”, he spurred her on, as he pursued the fleeing horse and its rider.

Luckily, he knew the forests surrounding his father’s stables like the palm of his hand since he spent pretty much every second of his free time out here, riding his horse and enjoying nature. He herded Rex - how the hell had the kid even got on him? - towards a cliff where he expertly cornered the skittish horse, murmuring calming words as he steadily worked his way closer until he could grab the reins.

The grey horse was shaking almost as badly as the boy on top of it. But the horse was David’s priority right now. After a brief glance to make sure that the boy was physically alright, David concentrated on calming Rex down with soothing words and calm hands. It only took a few minutes. Rex had been given into their care because his nervousness made him volatile and hard to handle but David had shown an almost immediate gift at working with the Mecklenburger, and Rex trusted him.

Once he’d calmed the horse down, David turned towards the shaking boy, who stared at him with eyes wide open. David thought he detected both fear and awe. But David was in no mood for that. “How the hell did you get on top of Rex?”

The pale boy went, if possibly, even paler and stuttered “I…uh..he’s my father’s horse and…your..uh…brother said he was better now and that I could take him out for a ride… and…“

“Eli” David said disgusted, cutting the boy short. His twin brother had a terrible idea of fun. David wasn’t suprised he’d think it would be hilarious to let this obviously inexperienced and frightened kid try and handle Rex.

“I’m sorry”, the boy sobbed. David thought he remembered Dr. Emmerich mentioning a son when he brought the horse.

“Hal, is it?” The boy nodded, averting his eyes and trying to discreetly brush away the tears. “I’m sorry I was so harsh. My brother’s an idiot. I can’t believe he didn’t see how dangerous this could be. But don’t worry, I’ll have a serious word with him about this when we get back.”

Hal nodded again but still wouldn’t meet David’s eyes. When David leaned over to get a better grib on Rex’s reins for the way back, he didn’t wonder anymore. There was a large dark and obviously wet spot on Hal’s pants.

“Come on, I’ll take you back.” David said kindly and pretended not to have seen anything. It was a warm day and if he took a circutious route, the pants should be dry by the time they were back at the DD Ranch.


	4. Reading and Walking Don't Mix Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Otasune dog walker AU in five sentences

The day had started as sleepy as Hal himself, with grey overhung skies and a listless rain hanging around in the air, seemingly incapable of actually moving; just like Hal.

The park was pretty empty as Hal finally managed to get there, so he buried his nose in a technical manual while he let Rex run around without a leash, only glancing up every now and then to check he kept on the path and didn’t run into stray trees, bins, or benches.

So naturally he walked straight into another dog - or maybe the dog ran into him, it was hard to establish afterwards -, fell, and felt a sharp crack in his wrist as he tumbled ungracefully to the ground, tangled in his manual, Rex’s leash, and, to be honest, his own two feet.

Hal was dimly aware of a deep voice calling the other dog to heel and a tall figure hurrying over to him, while he searched around for his glasses, found them askew on his nose, and righted them, while trying to push Rex’s inquisitve, and very wet, nose away from his face.

“I am so sorry, are you okay?” the stranger asked and Hal’s brain went briefly off on two completely different lines of thought: 1) He’s awfully tall and fit and I’m not sure I’d like to meet him in a dark alleyway; 2) He’s awfully good looking.


	5. Smile for Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Selebration of Solid Snake Day, have a little ficlet. (I'm ill, and this was a messy writing quickie...constructive criticism, as always, welcome)

Otacon smiled a lot. Like, really a lot. It confused Snake, who, at the most, managed a twitch of the lips.

There were the all too frequent nervous smiles, full of insecurities, embarrassed laughs and self-deprecating humourless smirks. But there were also the full-blown smiles of “OH MY GOD, Snake, you don't know [insert random anime]? We HAVE to watch that! It's the BEST SHOW EVER”, complete with talking hands and sparkling eyes.

Snake definitely preferred the latter.

He was used to people being intimidated by him but, in his mind, Otacon had absolutely no reason to hide. What he lacked in body mass and muscle, he more than compensated with his genius mind, kind heart, and optimistic view of the human race. If Snake had been a praying man, he would have begged God that Otacon would never lose that. Would never stop being good.

At the beginning of their partnership, Snake didn't know what to make of all those smiles – the nervous and the enthusiastic ones – but he caught himself hoping for a smile when he placed a fresh cup of coffee next to the working nerd. And he never failed to receive it, no matter how tired Otacon was.

Snake wasn't really interested in all of Otacon's anime stuff, but as the weeks, and then the months, passed, he encouraged him more and more to talk about it. Snake suffered through marathons of weird shows that he only watched to see Otacon smile, to see him happy and enthusiastically in love with something. He watched Otacon's face more than the shows themselves.

It was a grey February morning when Snake realised that he hoped Otacon would one day smile at him that way.

Snake had been uncomfortable with Otacon's nerdboy adoration of him when they started Philanthropy because he was only too aware that he didn't deserve it. Maybe Solid Snake, the legendary hero of Shadow Moses did. But he was just a shiny surface, a mirage created by first the military, Fox Hound, and later the press. David, the man behind that surface, surely didn't.

And yet he craved those smiles, that sparkle in Otacon's eye. They had abated and then gone completely, necessarily so, once Otacon realised the truth behind the mask. Once Solid Snake was revealed to be just a man.

Snake had never wanted to be loved. But apparently David did.

But despite his seeming openness, Otacon was surprisingly hard to read. Was a nervous reaction to Snake's sudden appearance, clad only in a towel, because Otacon was interested in Snake or because he generally wasn't used to people being at ease with their bodies? Did Otacon smile because he was simply a nice person or because it was Snake he smiled at?

It was frustrating, to say the least. Especially since Snake did know an easy way to determine it: just kiss the nerd and find out. But he didn't want to jeopardise their partnership and their mission. The world was more important than romantic and sexual frustration. Unfortunately.

***

When it finally did happen, Snake couldn't really say how it had come about or why it had happened on that day and no other. He didn't want to question it, in any case.

Snake suddenly found himself craving another kind of expression on Otacon's face, one he couldn't get enough of. Watching the nerd's face during sex became a completely new fascination for Snake.

But he still loved the smiles most of all. He'd imagined them to be as enthusiastic as they were when Otacon was happy about his shows or instant noodles or a fresh cup of coffee.

He'd been wrong.

Otacon never smiled at Snake that way. When he smiled at Snake, and only at Snake, his smiles were a lot smaller.

But they also went a lot deeper.


	6. The Noodle Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluffy pre-slash Otasune with a noodle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually a prompt for "a story you will never write" by [thelonebamf](http://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonebamf) ... but the muse was bored with that so it ended up as a weird summary/story hybrid thingy (a summory? a stormary?). Anyway, I thought somebody might like it, so I've decided to post it here.

It’s late, the darkness has gotten comfortable outside and David has finally managed to get Hal to eat something. And not at the desk or on the sofa, but actually sitting down at a table. David can probably count the number of times that happened on one hand. He’s exhausted, hasn’t slept well for a while and just wants some hot food, with Hal’s voice pleasantly washing over him. He’s a fast eater, while Hal’s food usually grows cold because he’s either distracted or talking so much. Hal doesn’t mind lukewarm noodles, he occasionally even eats them cold. David doesn’t mind Hal's slow pace too much either because it gives him an excuse to just watch Hal. It’d be rude to get up from the table before his partner has finished eating, after all!

So David watches Hal, while the nerd excitedly talks about some anime or manga or both. David isn’t exactly sure. He’s too distracted. His eyes are practically glued to Hal’s face. Hal thinks it’s interest in what he’s talking about and is pleasantly surprised and just gets more and more animated about his subject.

Little does he know that David’s concentration has nothing to do with obscure Japanese pop culture but with David tracking the progress of a little piece of noodle across Hal’s face.

Keeping an absolutely straight face is a talent David is proud of so when Hal notices the piece of noodle about two hours later and asks in a mortified voice how long it’s been there, he just grins.

It is later known as “The Noodle Incident” and David likes to tease Hal about it, even hints that he wouldn’t mind an encore of the performance (with a noodle or something else that’s edible) only he promises that this time, he wouldn’t leave it stuck to Hal’s face but would happily oblige and lick it off. Hal on the other hand becomes super selfconscious whenever they eat noodles. He never teaches Sunny how to cook them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After receiving the prompt "the noodle incident", all I could think of was [this famous German skit by Loriot with the noodle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytLTSJxmMas) so I had no choice but to adapt it to Otasune here ;D


	7. Chapter 7

“Uh…Snake? You should really come see this.”

Otacon’s voice held an edge of nervousness that spelled trouble. Trouble usually meant Snake would have to go on a dangerous mission somewhere soon. Snake sighed and got off the floor where he’d been doing push-ups and walked over to his partner with long strides.

Otacon pushed his glasses up on his nose and angled his laptop so that Snake could see the screen. It took a moment for him to register what it actually was that was happening in the small video frame.

“Otacon … this is a baby snake playing in a miniature sand box!”

“I know! It’s cute, right?!”

Snake tried to be angry or at least annoyed with the nerd but Otacon’s quiet but happy laugh made that rather difficult. He must have managed at least a grumbling expression though.

“I’m sorry, Snake, I just couldn’t resist.”

“Well … it _is_ a cute snake.”

“So it is”, Otacon agreed, though he wasn’t looking at the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just couldn't resist when I saw [this](http://www.tastefullyoffensive.com/2016/09/cute-snake-plays-in-his-new-mini-sandbox.html)
> 
> I'm not saying Otacon just did this to get sweaty excercising Snake over to him but ... maybe that's what I'm saying ^^
> 
> If anyone can come up with a title for this, please tell me. I suck at that!!


	8. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for higharollakockamamie. We joked around on Tumblr and this happened. Admittedly, the fandom part of this "fanfic" is so near to non-existant that it's almost original fic but I liked it too much to let it slip into obscurity on Tumblr. So read it with Otasune in mind, if you like ;D

The cabin was hidden away in the backwater of nowhere, overgrown trees ursurping all the light that had once shown on shiny shingles and windows. The shingles were mostly all still there, the windows, too, though so thickly caked with dust and grime and spider webs that they had long ceased to think of themselves as windows. The cabin had been forgotten or left to rot on its own, far away from anyone who could hear its dying moans.

It had finally given up hope the moment part of its roof collapsed under the weight of a fallen tree, felled one stormy night and finding its grave in an empty upstairs bedroom at the back of the cabin. Now the mass of timber and metal just waited to be finally consumed by Nature. It dreamed of days long gone while listening to the mocking sounds of birds and branches. It envied the wind rushing in and out of its chinmey.

In the absence of other inhabitants, it grew dark and dusty so the spiders and insects and rodents nestling in its empty rooms would feel comfortable. But what is the lifespan of a rat to a cabin? What interest is there in watching generation after generation of flies buzzing around aimlessly? And yet that was all there was. That and the memories and the waiting.

***

The monotony of decay was unexpectantly shattered one day, with the arrival of a battered old pick up truck and two men tumbling out of it. They stretched their long limbs after having spent far too long in the vehicle and looked at the cabin.

There was no point in hiding its flaws and shortcomings, no way it could pretend to be more than it was. Even though the windows longed to let in even the tiny bit of light a sunny day would allow them that the grey of the skies denied that day. Even though the wood groaned in an attempt to straighten out and bear the weight of heavy footsteps. It was no use, the cabin knew. The two men were surely lost. Had expected something else. Would leave. Any minute now.

Only they didn’t. The bulkier of the two tested the walls with calloused hands and a shiver sent the spider webs fluttering. It had been a long time since anyone had touched the cabin with something else than rodent feet and insect legs. It hoped the men would stay and was surprised that it was still capable of feeling hope. It was almost sure it would break down completely if these two left.

But they didn’t and the cabin struggled to stay upright, banished the rats and mice and kept as much of the wind out as it possibly could. The men had come to stay and it would do its utmost to be worthy of the time and effort they invested in repairing its damage. 

To make them feel at home.


End file.
